Natsu's Confession
by multifanwriter
Summary: When Natsu begins to avoid Lucy, she is determined to find out why. NaLu oneshot! (Another fic in the Sibling!AU for Laxus and Lucy, but this focuses more on Natsu and Lucy's relationship.)


**A/N: Hi everyone! Happy new year! Here's a oneshot continuation of the Sibling!AU of Laxus and Lucy. This fic focuses more on Natsu and Lucy's relationship, so there's not much more of Laxus than a few mentions here and there. Enjoy, and don't forget to drop a review :)**

* * *

It was a mildly chilly Thursday afternoon when Lucy first noticed that Natsu was acting odd. It had been nothing significant, not really. She had been sitting at the bar chatting with Mirajane about who-knows-what when he came and sat next to her. So far, so good. He did that all the time. Within a minute however, she noticed it. Natsu was being unusually quiet. He had simply ordered up a plate of fire food and went about his way devouring it. No shout of "Lushhyyyyyyy!", no random arm thrown over her shoulder – and most concerning of all, she couldn't feel the energy flowing off him as she usually could. But she pushed the thoughts from her mind as he looked over and greeted her, his smile as blinding as ever. She smiled back and they fell into their usual pattern.

But at the back of her mind, the though remained – there was something missing in his smile.

The next time she noticed it was three days later. Actually, she noticed that it had been three days since Natsu broke into her house. Usually the pyro came at least once a day, either to raid her fridge or drag her to the guild. However, she shrugged it off – he could be busy after all. When she went to the guild later that day, everything seemed pretty normal. Gray, Gajeel and Elfman were brawling, Cana had her head in a barrel, Macao and Wakaba were chatting, Natsu was talking to Laxus… She froze. She rubbed her eyes. She looked again. Nope, no change. Natsu and Laxus were talking. Not fighting but talking. Granted, it seemed to be a pretty heated conversation with the waving hands and agitated noises – and there it was, Laxus punched the salmon-haired boy with an electricity covered fist, knocking him out. Before Lucy could go to figure out what was happening though, Erza and Gray sauntered over, the latter having somehow lost his shirt. They entreated her with a mission that paid a pretty decent amount and Lucy, forever broke, happily agreed. Happy flew Natsu over and the team set off on their next adventure.

* * *

Two weeks after Team Natsu returned, Lucy's life had yet to go back to normal. Rather, it was too normal for her. Laxus had crashed at her house more often, and much as she loved him, she missed Natsu. The fire dragon slayer hadn't really spoken to her very often lately and the time they spent together had become almost negligible. The blonde knew he was her best friend, but was it normal to miss your best friend so much? Pushing the thought from her mind, she resolved to confront the pink haired idiot.

The next day, Lucy woke up at the crack of dawn, got ready and made her way to Natsu and Happy's house. Magnolia was just about waking up as she made her way to the forest, so she was the first customer at the little coffee shop she and Natsu used to frequent. She picked up breakfast for three and continued on her way. As she approached the little shack where her best friend lived, her nerves grew. But Lucy Heartfilia was nothing if not determined, so she powered through and let herself in.

The house was, unfortunately, as much of a pigsty as ever. She found the boy and his cat sound asleep in their hammocks and decided to clean up a bit as she waited. She washed the dishes and scrubbed the counter, calling Virgo to help her out. As the clock neared 9 AM, she decided enough was enough and went to wake the sleeping duo, armed with a tray laden with breakfast. Putting the tray aside, she went to the sleeping boy and gently began to shake him.

"Natsu… Natsu, wake up! It's morning already. Come on, I've got breakfast ready for you." He looked so cute while sleeping, Lucy couldn't help but smile to herself. She gave Happy the same treatment, patting his back lightly. Finally, the two opened their eyes, Happy immediately flying to the bathroom. Natsu took a bit longer to wake, his eyes blinking away the sleep and staring at her unfocussed. "Lucy… Oh it must be a dream…" he said as he let out a jaw cracking yawn. The blonde stifled a giggle and gently patted him awake again. "Come on Natsu, it's not a dream. Get out of bed or the food is going to get cold!"

The mere mention of food had him more alert and he sat up, taking in his surroundings, sniffing carefully. He turned to the girl perched at the edge of the hammock, something unreadable in his eyes. "You're really here? What are you up to Luce?"

Said blonde swallowed back her annoyance at his choice of words. "You've been avoiding me lately, Natsu, and I wanted to know why."

"B..but, you could've met me in the guild! Why did you come to my house?"

"So I'm no longer welcome here? I see how it is Natsu, I'll leave now. Breakfast is on the table."

"No, Lucy WAIT! I didn't mean that! Stop putting words in my mouth, weirdo."

"Then what did you mean Natsu? I'm struggling to understand what I did so wrong that you felt the need to avoid me for three weeks. We're supposed to be best friends. Friends don't leave with no warning. Friends don't just get up and walk out of your life…"

She heard a sniffle and was shocked to discover that it had come from herself. Quickly wiping her nose, she glared at him with steadily reddening eyes, turned and began walking to the door once again. There was a sudden movement behind her and then Natsu was there, blocking her path.

"Natsu, get-"

"Stay. Stay, Lucy, please and let me explain. I… I owe you an apology and an explanation." His eyes were hidden behind his bangs and his bearing looked morose. Deciding to give him a chance, she gave in.

"Fine. Go get dressed and make sure Happy hasn't fallen asleep in the bathtub again. I'll wait here for you."

At his hesitance, she gave him a nudge towards the bathroom. "Go Natsu. A celestial mage never breaks her word. I'm giving you a chance, so don't mess it up."

He nodded and began walking away. As he got of sight, Lucy leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She really did not understand what was going on in their relationship. She was beginning to piece together her own feelings though. She had always loved Natsu as her best friend and comrade. Surely the shift towards romantic love wasn't such a leap? Perhaps not love… yet. But she could definitely grow to love him, she just needed to see him in that way. The concept of dating was after all exactly this. To gauge a couple's romantic inclination towards each other.

Sighing, she went to check up on Virgo's progress. Her spirit was extremely efficient in such matters, and the entire house had been scrubbed and dusted. Thanking her for her help, she sent Virgo back to the celestial realm. Then she moved to the dining table – that looked new, where did it come from? – and placed the now-cold food on it. She lost herself in her thoughts as she waited, listening to the sounds of the shower coming from the next room.

Soon enough, Natsu emerged, clean and fresh smelling. Happy came out too, drooling as he eyed the delicacies that he hadn't eaten in weeks. The two boys sat at the table and they all dug into the food. Lucy smiled absently, thinking how nice it was to eat with her boys again. As soon as they finished, Happy jumped up and exclaimed he was going to the guild to wait for Carla. Both teens laughed at his enthusiasm and sent him off with a wave. When it was just the two of them, Lucy fixed Natsu with a stare, eyes demanding that he spill immediately. Said boy gulped and took a deep breath. Then he began:

"Lucy, I'm so sorry for avoiding you. I didn't mean to just leave like that… I know how much I hurt you last time, and I realise that this time it was probably worse. I never want to hurt you Luce. Never. It's just that, a few weeks ago I began to see you in a different light. I saw you as a… a girl Luce, and not as a teammate. It scared me. I always knew you were pretty what with all the men chasing after you, but that day I truly saw it. It really scared me because I had never felt this way before. So I began avoiding you to try and figure out why I was feeling this way. Talking to Gray helped me understand that I was… crushing on you. I wasn't sure what to do, so Gajeel suggested I just tell you. I didn't know how you'd take it, but you've always been smart so I figured you'd handle it better. Then I discovered that Laxus had overheard this entire conversation – and he wasn't happy Luce. He said he didn't want to see you with a broken heart and that I should really think hard and be sure of my feelings before saying anything to you. I tried arguing with him, but he was adamant. That's why I stopped coming by you house, and he began coming over more often. To make sure you were okay and that I didn't do anything stupid."

The celestial mage had been listening patiently until now, anger simmering beneath the surface. The dumb spark plug was gonna get it from her! Interfering with her life, what right did he have?! She took a breath and calmed herself down. She'd deal with the overgrown oaf later. For now…

"So what were you going to do, Natsu? Avoid me till the end of time?"

"NO! No. I was giving myself till the end of this week. I wanted to see if the feelings would go away so I could know how serious it was. I've… I've missed you terribly Lucy. I wasn't sure if I could survive another two days without talking to you and making you laugh."

"You idiot… This is the strangest confession I've ever received. But I have to admit, distance does make the heart grow fonder. Over the last few weeks, I've come to realise some things about myself too. I think I have a crush on you too, Natsu."

The dragon slayer's mouth hung open. "So... So does this mean you'll go on a date with me?"

"Yes, Natsu, it does."


End file.
